Hogs cruise past Ducks

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 47 University of Arkansas men’s tennis team picked up their third victory on Friday night, taking on Oregon at the Dills Indoor Stadium. The Hogs captured the 6-1 win behind solid play at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles and consistent hard play throughout the singles lineup.“It was a good match, very close,” Razorbacks head coach Robert Cox said. “On the court, it’s much closer than 6-1. It was a good opening match for us at home. Oregon’s a very good team and I’m very happy with the way we played.

Playing against Marcos Verdasco and Alexander Cornelissen at No. 1 doubles, Blake Strode and Matt Hogan, ranked No. 14 in the nation, scored the 8-6 victory, securing the doubles point for the Hogs after Tyler Tarnasky and partner Bradwin Williams bested Jose Izquierdo and Ayrton Wibowo, 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.

On court two, Chris Nott and Dmitry Lebedev suffered their first lose of the season, 9-7, to the Ducks’ Romeo Mortera and Duncan MacDonald-Korth.

“We played good doubles,” Cox said. “I think we could have played better but it was a very good dual match overall and I’m pleased.”

Continuing to run over opponents in the early spring, Strode dismissed Verdasco, 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets and Williams looked unstoppable at No.6, winning over MacDonald-Korth in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

“Bradwin really stepped up big tonight,” Cox said. “His match gave us an edge with how quickly he was able to get his win.”

Clinching the Razorbacks’ (3-2) win was Lebedev on court four against Izquierdo. Lebedev took the first set easily but the two competitors fought it out down the stretch in the second before Lebedev pulled away for the win, 6-4, 6-3.

Chris Nott rolled on at No. 2 singles against the Ducks, playing in a tight, three-set match with Cornelissen. Nott dropped the first set when Cornelissen picked up a late break but came back in the second set, 6-2. A long third set led to a match point for the Hog on Cornelissen’s serve and brought the crowd to their feet. Cornelissen failed to get his forehand over the net, sending the ball into the center of the net and giving Nott the victory, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Playing at No. 3 singles for the second consecutive match, Hogan struggled against Wibowo, dropping the first set, 5-7. He rebounded to win the second and stormed past Wibowo in the second set tiebreaker, 10-7 and taking the match, 5-7, 6-4, (10-7).

Tarnasky continued his struggles on the singles court against Oregon, although he came back convincingly in the second set, winning 6-1, against Mortera after dropping the first set, 3-6. Still, in the third set, Oregon’s Mortera found another level of play and took the match from the Hog, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6.

“I’m so proud of the bottom half of our lineup,” Cox said. “Tyler came back and put himself in a position to win.”

The Hogs are back on the court Sunday at 1 p.m. when they face the Pacific Tigers before dualing with Cowley County Community College at 6 p.m. For complete coverage of Razorback men’s tennis, log onto ArkansasRazorbacks.com.